Tag Archives: remote workforce

Our top 3 tips for managing a remote workforce

Friday, 19 August 2016 07:05

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One of the key benefits of choosing a Virtual Office package is the sense of freedom and flexibility when it comes to building a team of employees within your business. A physical office can often limit your choice of staff as the most highly skilled and highly motivated candidates may not logistically be a good fit. You have to rely on individuals living in close proximity to your office location, with flexible circumstances allowing them to work in a physical office with fixed working hours.

Building a remote workforce has been growing in popularity in the last couple of years, with results showing staff working in these conditions are not only happier but more productive. The acceleration of Virtual Office, cloud computing and hosted desktops has expanded horizons for innovative, forward-thinking businesses wanting to make the most of modern technology. Virtual Office not only supports remote workforces but with the added bonuses of telephone answering and mail forwarding services it actively benefits those companies whose staff are based outside of a traditional office environment, making working from home or even in a different country easier than ever before.

Whilst all the tech is there to support a remote workforce it still needs efficiently managed to ensure your approach is effective and your team productive. So what can you do to successfully manage a remote workforce?

“Create a positive virtual workplace”

There is more to managing remote workers than giving them a laptop and flexible hours. A strong and efficient workforce need to feel appreciated and importantly not lose the feeling of being part of a team.

There are a number of ways to ensure you help create a successful environment for your virtual office employees, which will be beneficial to them and to your company. Here are our top 3 tips.

Communication

It is essential to your relationship with a remote employee that you retain a good level of communication whether that is by phone, email or video conferencing. The way you choose to communicate should be appropriate to both your business and your individual employees. Just like in a physical office, what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.

Take time to get to know your employees and once you understand how they work, ensure you establish a general routine when it comes to the manner and frequency of your communication. A good manager makes a conscious and consistent effort to reach out to remote workers, building a professional atmosphere within your virtual office environment.

Technology

Having the right technology and tools at your fingertips ensures a virtual workspace runs smoothly and efficiently. This allows remote team members to feel connected and involved at all times.

Video conferencing platforms such as Skype and Webex encourage face-to-face meetings to take place in a virtual environment and is a great way to bring people together and strengthen them as a team.

Project management programs are another great tool for remote workers. Using apps such as Trello or Basecamp are just a few of the options which allow multiple team members to view progress and to contribute to an ongoing project.

With cloud storage and social communication channels forever widening, there are no excuses to ensuring the right tools are established for your remote employees to succeed.

Trust and Accountability

A virtual office is more than just a virtual address – it becomes the whole business environment in which your employees work. With staff working from various locations, including their homes and often in different time zones, trust is essential.

Managing a remote workforce can be a daunting experience if you are new to it, as you have to create relationships with your employees where you can feel confident that they are completing the work they need to without being able to monitor them in an office environment.

A top tip for building trust is to ensure your employees have key goals and responsibilities, meaning they still have to hit deadlines and take accountability for their workload despite being unsupervised.

Not only does this focus employees, but puts your mind at ease that they are not sitting at home with their feet up, with studies actually showing that remote workers are more productive.